INITIAL EXPERIENCE OF THE ENZALUTAMIDE TREATMENT FOR CASTRATION-RESISTANT PROSTATE CANCER.

(Objective) Enzalutamide is an oral androgen-receptor inhibitor that prolongs survival in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). We retrospectively evaluated clinical efficacy and safety of enzalutamide in CRPC. (Patients and methods) We reviewed clinical records of 73 patients who had received enzalutamide for the CRPC at Showa University and affiliated 7 hospitals. Enzalutamide was given at a dose of 160 mg/day, but some patients were treated at lower dose because of there age or poor performance status. Prostrate-specific antigen (PSA) response, prior docetaxel use and the previously administered agents were evaluated retrospectively. (Results) The median patients age was 77 years, the median Gleason score was 9 and the median PSA level at baseline was 26.9 ng/ml. The patients who had prior docetaxel use were 29 (39.7%) and the median of total docetaxel dose was 460 mg/body. The median number of total prior treatments (anti-androgens, Estramustine and steroid) was 3. Twenty seven (61.4%) patients with docetaxel-naïve achieved over 50% reduction of PSA level from baseline, but only 7 (24.1%) in patients previously treated with docetaxel. The most common adverse events included fatigue (24.7%), anorexia (24.7%) and the nausea (16.4%). We found a small proportion of responders to enzalutamide experienced a PSA flare. (Conclusion) Our results of the use of Enzaltamide for CRPC were similar with previous reports. PSA flare was found in some patients with CRPC who responded to enzaltamide. It should be noted that this possible PSA flare phenomenon.

[Predictors of chronic aortic events associated with uncomplicated type B aortic dissection].

OBJECTIVE: Stent-graft repair may emerge as a first-line therapy for acute complicated type B dissection(C-TBD), while debate continues over thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for uncomplicated type B aortic dissection (U-TBD). Aggressive medical therapy, which confers a 1-year survival rate of 80-90%, is deemed appropriate for most of these patients. However, it is reported that aortic complications occur in ≤ 50% patients within 5 years after surgery. Subgroups of patients with U-TBD may benefit from early stent-graft placement, but identification of these patients remains difficult. Therefore, we assessed the predictors of chronic aortic events associated with U-TBD. METHODS: Between January 2001 and April 2012, 49 patients diagnosed with communicating U-TBD without aneurysm formation were admitted to our hospital. These patients were divided into 2 groups:group AC (n=25) with chronic aortic complications (aneurysm formation, aortic diameter expansion of 5 mm/0.5 year, re-dissection, and rupture) and group NC (n=24)with no aortic complications. We assessed and compared patient profiles and imaging findings between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Aortic diameter ≥ 40 mm was more often seen in group AC than in group NC (p=0.018). In addition, intimal tear in the distal arch was more often seen in group AC than in group NC ( p=0.002). Initial aortic diameter was significantly larger in group AC than in group NC (p=0.004). There was no significant difference in the length of communicating false lumen between the 2 groups ( p=0.107). CONCLUSIONS: Early endovascular intervention may be appropriate for U-TBD in cases displaying an initial aortic diameter ≥ 40 mm and an initial tear in the distal arch. It is expected that randomized studies, including ADSOAB study (a study on the efficacy of endovascular grafting in uncomplicated acute dissection of the descending aorta.), will resolve the limitations of our retrospective study.

Detection of circulating urothelial cancer cells in the blood using the CellSearch System.

BACKGROUND: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been shown to aid in the therapeutic management of patients. But, only a few attempts have been made at the detection of urothelial cancer cells in the blood. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that CTCs are detected in patients with urothelial cancers using newly developed CellSearch Assay. METHODS: Firstly, the bladder cancer cell lines were used to evaluate the reagents for immunocytochemical detection. After, mixed with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy volunteers, bladder cancer cells were stained with antibodies then multiparameter flow cytometric analysis was performed for the identification of bladder cancer cells in the PBMCs. Secondary, recovery of known numbers of spiked bladder cancer cells from whole blood was examined using CellSearch Assay. Finally, blood samples from nonmetastatic and metastatic urothelial cancer patients were investigated for CTC detection using CellSearch Assay. RESULTS: 1: Flow cytometric analysis revealed that it is possible to identify bladder cancer cells in PBMCs. 2: Sensitivity examination for detection of urothelial cancer cells with CellSearch Assay: Single regression analysis of the spiked number of cells vs. the recovered number of cells yielded a good correlation in this experiment. 3: Urothelial cancer cells were detected in 8 of fourteen patients (57.1%) with distant metastasis. Despite, no patient with nonmetastatic urothelial cancers showed positive result for this assay. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of attempt to detect circulating urothelial cancer cells in the peripheral blood of the patients with metastatic and nonmetastatic urothelial cancers by CellSearch Assay.